


A Reel Story of Love

by rune4u



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: But he made a whole movie about you, Hurt/Comfort, Lawyer Chanyeol, Light Angst, M/M, Meeting your ex again, Post-Break Up, Revelations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29584911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rune4u/pseuds/rune4u
Summary: In which Sehun attends a movie premiere with his colleague only to find out that the film is an adaptation of his past love story.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 38
Kudos: 110
Collections: Sekai's Grace





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you Grace for this opportunity to work on your prompt. And for being very welcoming and helpful too. Secondly, thank you to my boyfriend aka my unpaid-beta, for keeping up with my madness while I was struggling to finish this fic. Also for helping me with the plots and the title. I'm nothing without you.
> 
> I hope you guys would enjoy the fic. It was a wild ride completing this one so I hope it'll be worth it.
> 
> **Warning** : There's a reference to being homophobia and a portrayal of being homophobic. It's not much but it's there so head's up.
> 
> The paragraphs between '+ • +' dividers are snippets from movie scenes.

The crush Yeonhee has on Sehun is not a secret. Sehun is aware of it, and so does the entire office. But she is a sweetheart. No one dared to say anything, letting her be. Sehun, for one, does not mind. He has made it clear on more than one occasion, albeit indirectly, that he has no interest in pursuing any sort of romantic relationship. He had hoped Yeonhee would understand and would move on soon.

She does not.

Thursday evening, half an hour before work officially ends for the day, Yeonhee approaches him with two tickets in her hands and a shy smile on her lips. “I won these premiere tickets through a contest. It’s expected to be the biggest-hit movie this year. The VVIPs will be attending the premiere as well. I-If Mr Oh won’t mind, would y-you come to the screening with me?”

“A movie premiere?” Sehun reaches for one of the tickets, reading the details. A soft sigh escapes his lips when he recognises the intention behind the invitation. “Listen, Yeonhee. You’re a good girl. A very bright colleague too. I’m glad to have you in my team. But I am not really um, _looking_ right now. It wouldn’t be very professional of us either to go out like this.”

“N-no, Mr Oh. I admit that my original intention is to ask you out for you know, a date. I truly understand that you’re not interested. But I already got the tickets and all of my friends already have plans for the weekend. I’m a huge fan of the movie’s scriptwriter. He writes the best romance movies. Please come. If not as a lover, then maybe accompany me as an older brother?”

And that’s how Sehun finds himself standing in front of a theatre that Saturday. He is already bad at saying no to people. When Yeonhee pulled the puppy-eyed please on him, he knew it was a lost cause. ‘ _She said it’s a friendly, brother-sister night out, right?_ ’ He mumbles under his breath, hoping Yeonhee would not go back on her words.

She arrives 10 minutes later than the promised time, dipping her head non-stop as she keeps reciting apologies and explaining that there was a huge car accident on her way here. Sehun quickly dismisses it before they end up garnering more attention and judging look from the passers-by.

They keep a light conversation as they line up to get checked in into the auditorium. ‘ _No wonder she’s so desperate to come_ ,’ he thinks as they walk towards their designated seats. Centre column, third row from the front – it’s the perfect spot for the perfect view of the movie. Not to mention, if Sehun saw the seat tags correctly, Yeonhee’s favourite scriptwriter will be sitting directly in front of them. He bites back a smile when he notices how she’s basically vibrating in excitement.

The members of the audience start flowing in one after another. Not long after, the hall is filled with happy buzzes, the seats are occupied, except the VVIP section of the first two rows. The lights are dimmed, sponsor advertisements are running on the huge screen while they wait for the screening to start.

“What’s the movie about again?” Sehun had thought of doing some searching on Google last night, but he ended up falling asleep the moment his back touched the bed. The week had been rough. When he woke up this morning, he busied himself with one week worth of chores, even almost forgetting about the not-date date with Yeonhee.

“It’s a coming out movie. Romance, of course and comedy.” She’s reading from the pamphlet that the staff was handing out earlier. More like struggling to read. The lighting is bad. Their only sources are the big screen and the very dim orange lights along the step railing. Sehun feels sorry that she has to strain her eyes so hard to answer him. “ _Joonki meets Seojun in college when they are assigned to a group project together. The friendship blooms easily between them. But Joonki is soon to discover the depth of his feeling towards Seojun extends beyond ‘just a friend.’ It’s a journey of self-discovery, heartbreak and a love to no end._ – well, that’s what the pamphlet says.”

Sehun grimaces. “That sounds so… cliché. Is everyone into cliché stuffs these days? Why’s the hype so huge? I don’t get it.”

“First of all, both the director and scriptwriter are very well-known in producing many hits, box-office, masterpiece films. Second, the actors. The lead actor playing Seojun is actually from mainland China, Luhan. The production crew went to such great length recruiting a Chinese actor to play a Korean character – that sure makes everyone curious and intrigued. And not to mention, the actor playing Joonki is the rising star, Cha Eunwoo. He broke the Internet with his film debut last year. Everyone wants more of him. This would be his second film, so the hype is pretty much anticipated.”

“You seem very well prepared. Did you study it before coming?”

Despite the lack of light, Sehun can still see the way her cheeks reddened. “I was just… I mean. I was excited for this movie. And the fact that I get to attend its premiere. The actors and the handsome, brilliant scriptwriter are going to be here too. I just can’t help it.” _Cute_. Sehun hums as a reply, before slowly standing up. “Where are you going, Mr Oh? It’s starting soon.”

“I need the loo. Won’t take long, don’t worry.”

When Sehun enters the hall again, the opening sequence has just ended. ‘ _Just in time,_ ’ he thinks and rushes to his seat, trying his best not to make too much sound with his steps. It is a full house now. The first two lines are already filled. It seems like the VVIPs made their entrance while he was busy doing his business. Well, it’s not like he came to see them. He is only there because Yeonhee asked for his company. Heck, he is not even into romance movies, or movies in general.

Once he is seated, he sends Yeonhee an apologetic smile before fishing out his phone. He does not have anyone who would text him on a regular basis, but just in case, he slides the small button on the top left side to turn on silent mode. Shifting a little, he gets comfortable with sitting and tries to focus on the moving scenes.

\+ • +

It is just the first day of the semester but Joonki is already running late for class. Staying up to unpack everything in one go definitely is not worth it. With just two hours of sleep, Joonki wonders whether he would be able to stay awake during all the lectures scheduled for him today. Highly unlikely.

As he is sprinting through the corridor, Joonki curses in his head when he recalls the first subject he is heading to. Modern Literature. When he signed up for a Bachelor of Arts in Film Production, he did not expect he would have to take modern literature class as well. Apparently, and unfortunately for him, the university has made it compulsory for every student to complete the course in order to graduate. Considering the later years would be even busier than the beginning of his student life, Joonki decided to get the inevitable done first. He deeply regrets his decision today.

Modern Literature class is pretty much a snooze fest. Even with enough good night sleep, he could not guarantee he could stay awake – he barely had gotten any last night.

Horror strikes his entire being when the voice of who he assumes to be his new professor echoes from the lecture hall. She is already introducing herself, and he is dead late. With a shaking hand, he slowly reaches for the knob but unable to find any strength in him to turn it. It is only his first day and he is already screwing up. What if his professor is the type to hold a grudge? What if she failed him just so he would have to repeat the subject?

While he is busy with his internal debate and self-deprecating, a foreign hand appears and holds the knob on top of his own. Startled, Joonki snaps his head to look at the figure next to him, not expecting to meet a very pissed looking man.

“If you’re planning to be a statue, go be a stone somewhere else. I’m already late as it is.” The man scowls at him before slapping his hand away and proceeds to push the door open. Astounded, Joonki stands there by the door, unmoving and unable to react. He remains there until his professor, who later reintroduced herself to him as Professor Lee Harin, comes to literally drag him into the class.

\+ • +

Suddenly, Sehun feels goosebumps raiding his entire body, prickling his skin. His hands fly to self-hug on instinct, groaning under his breath as shivers shoot down his spine. He stays gaping at the screen for the next few seconds before slumping against the backrest, heaving a loud sigh.

Next to him, Yeonhee shifts to check on him, both worry and curiosity etched on her forehead. “Are you okay, Mr Oh?”

“Y-yeah,” he rasps out, then pauses to clear his throat. “Weirdly enough, I just had a very bad case of déjà vu.”

“Déjà vu, how?”

“That line Seojun said to Joonki just now, was that from a meme or something? Or a phrase you, young people use these days? Because I swear, I heard it somewhere before. Those exact words.” A shushing sound coming from the row behind them has Sehun curling deeper into his seat. He almost forgets that he is in the middle of a movie screening. Talking any louder than a ghostly whisper is highly frowned upon. “Never mind. Let’s continue watching.”

\+ • +

Settling into university life is not as bad as Joonki originally anticipated. His class schedule is packed, but manageable for now. His professors are mostly on the friendly side, unlike what he had imagined them to be as portrayed in movies and books. Joonki has made quite a number of friends too, albeit most of them being his course mates. His roommate, Youngjae, is a pretty cool guy. Their majors are different, so are their schedules but they get along well.

A week passed like a breeze and once again, Joonki is standing outside of Modern Literature class, fortunately not running late this time. In fact, he is fifteen minutes early. With a huge accomplished grin plastered on his face, Joonki steps inside and strides confidently towards an empty seat. He pulls out the ‘Introduction to Modern Literature’ essay Professor Lee tasked them to finish during the previous class, skimming through the paragraphs just to make sure he printed the correct document.

Not five minutes later, a figure slides next to him. He turns with a smile to greet but pauses when he registered who the person is. He didn’t get to catch his name before, but Joonki recalls the boy as the one who basically told him to fuck off when they were both late for class last week.

Judging from the surprised look on the man’s face, Joonki believes he just randomly took an unoccupied seat without checking who he would be sitting next to. No, Joonki does not hold a grudge. It was pretty rude of him, but Joonki was the one blocking the door. It was early in the morning too, so Joonki would not blame him for being highly irritable. He thinks he has an interesting attitude. The guy has a smooth feature. His skin is milky white, full rounded cheeks and shiny pink thin lips. He looks soft, but he could be snappy too. Joonki feels intrigued.

“Hi, I’m Joonki,” he starts, holding out a hand. “We met last week but I guess we both were kind of in a rush.” He notices the hesitation swimming in those light brown irises, perhaps a bit apologetic too. Joonki holds back a chuckle and proceeds to take the hand into his, shaking it gleefully. “Don’t worry. I didn’t take that to heart. Now, now. I still haven’t gotten your name yet.”

A small smile slowly curls on the man’s lips. Joonki watches it unfold with fascination. “I’m Seojun.”

\+ • +

“Mr Oh.” Sehun leans to his right, closer to Yeonhee when he hears her calling for him. “Don’t you think the Seojun guy looks pretty similar to you? Are you maybe… half Chinese?”

The screen is now coincidentally playing a close-up scene where both Joonki and Seojun are clearly visible on the camera. Sehun squints to study the guy who is playing Seojun’s character closer. Yeonhee is right. There are some similarities between him and the actor Luhan. Doe eyes, boyish look, soft-looking cheeks and thin lips. They could pass with being siblings.

But… wait.

Sehun remembers sporting the same fashion back in his university days, specifically during his first year. He came from a rural area. There were not many boutiques in their small town, only attire sections in departmental stores. His closet-line consists of plaid button-up flannels and graphic t-shirts. Right now, Seojun is wearing the same set he used to wear back then (sans the expensive-looking backpack sprawled on top of the desk).

“I’m full Korean, but you know what… you’re right.” He whispers back, both of them nodding in agreement. “This movie is seriously giving me chills for some unknown reason.”

\+ • +

Befriending Seojun is like breathing; it is easy and comes naturally to him.

After the awkward hand shake, they pull away and pretend to be busy with last minute checking of their assignment. Silence continues to accompany them until Professor Lee steps into the hall and kicks off with the day’s lesson. Joonki tries his best not to fall asleep every five minutes. Despite being equipped with ten hours of good night sleep, his eyelids are still weak against the boredom Modern Literature class offers. He does feel bad because Professor Lee is such a sweetheart. The subject and its content are to blame.

At the end of the class, Professor Lee shares the rubrics for their project assignment. She expects to see a critical research on the impact of modern literature in various cultures presented in the form of a formatted thesis by the end of the semester. She also distributes sets of hardcopy printouts lining the rubrics, together with the list of students paired for the project. Joonki skims the list until he finds his name, and could not help the grin forming on his face when he sees the name below his own.

“Is this you?” A finger pointing to where the name is, Joonki leans closer to the man beside him. He watches as a glimpse of confusion passes through the brown orbs, before Seojun slowly nods to confirm. “Ah. It looks like we’ll be working together for the rest of the semester then.”

He would be lying if he said he did not have the slightest doubt that this project pairing could work, especially judging from how quiet Seojun is based on their first two encounters. But, Seojun proves him wrong.

As it turns out, the cold exterior is just a façade, a wall that was waiting for someone to break through. Behind it, lives the real Seojun who has so much love to share. He is cheerful, a ray of sunshine even on the gloomiest day, and always puts everyone before himself. He has a stock of snarky comments at the back of his head, sometimes too blunt and very honest with his words. But really, Seojun is actually a sweetheart through and through.

And most importantly, they click!

They warm up to each other easily. Between study sessions and classes, each meet-up brings them closer and closer. Soon, Joonki rarely finds himself without Seojun on his side. Unless they are in their respective course classes, Joonki and Seojun are basically attached to the hips. It is a sort of unspoken agreement between them to have lunch together, regardless of how busy or tight their schedules are for the day.

Come the second year where students are allowed to reside outside the provided hostel in campus residential, Seojun shoves a rental lease document to Joonki’s face, looking very excited and eager. He does not think much when he writes down his signature next to Seojun’s own, trusting his friend to find the best place for them to reside for the rest of their student life.

The monthly fee is slightly higher than the dormitories inside their campus, but it is still reasonable given the spacious living room and a full-kitchen area, complete with a dining table and a stove oven. There is a retractable drying rack on their small balcony, a washer next to the bathroom and two bedrooms, one for each of them. Not to mention, it is fully furnished. All in all, the apartment is such a catch and he thinks Seojun is so amazing for managing to snatch it.

They put together a duty roster right after moving in to ensure the apartment would stay cosy and comfortable for both of them. Joonki believes they work very well together (if the A+ Professor Lee awarded them was of any indicator). They also developed a routine of having meals together every day. If one of them could not make it, they would make sure to inform the other to not wait for them. It is a nice arrangement and Joonki is very content.

That is, until he is not anymore.

The unsettling feeling, Joonki notices, started when he had to leave the town for a week to film a short movie with his groupmates for their second-year project. Day one was okay. Day two was somehow manageable. Day three… Joonki could barely sit still. He was unsure of the reason, but a video call with Seojun seemed to fix everything. Seojun initially wanted to show off the new washer their landlord got for them (the old one broke down about two weeks ago, and since it was in the contract, the landlord had to replace it). His friend was bouncing with excitement, looking happy since they would not have to camp at the laundromat anymore. His smile warms Joonki and all the bad feelings he had seeped out of his being.

The next time Joonki experienced it was when they attended a party hosted by a friend from his Scriptwriting class. All is fun and games, drinking without worrying about the impending hangover, until Joonki saw Seojun stepped out of the guest toilet with another man from his class. If that was not suspicious enough, Joonki also noted the extra redness of Seojun’s lips and his dishevelled hair. It would not take a genius to guess what they were up to. Something bubbled inside him, something unpleasant yet he was unable to point it down.

It has been weeks since then. Seojun is starting to notice the restrains Joonki inadvertently put in their friendship. It physically hurts him to keep his distance and avoid Seojun, but his heart would start making this weird gymnastic routine whenever they are in one room. It scares him as much as he is curious of this newfound _effect_ that his friend has on him.

One day, Joonki gets cornered and he knows that it is finally time to confront his fear.

“It is not quite normal to daydream about kissing your best friend, is it?” That is all he managed after getting stared at so intensely by Seojun’s mesmerising beautiful eyes. (Seojun has the most beautiful eyes, no other argument is valid.)

“You’re a fucking idiot,” is all the reply he got before finding a foreign pair of lips pressed against his own. That day, Joonki decides that being an idiot does not seem so bad.

\+ • +

“Oh, fuck, no.” Sehun gasps loudly as the realisation hits him. The chills, the déjà vu – they all make sense now. “No! No, no, no.” Each no’s is increasing in volume as the panic in him is also rising. There are all sorts of emotions getting bundled up inside of him at the moment. He has no idea which one he should react with first.

A hand gets a hold of him, gentle squeezes to his shoulders to calm him down. Sehun gulps the huge lump formed in his throat, and slowly, he turns to face the worried looking Yeonhee. And not only that, he also noticed the stink eyes he is getting from the fellow audience. Of course, they would look at him weirdly. He just had a mini breakdown in the middle of a screening.

“Are you sure you’re okay? We can leave if…”

“G-give me the pamphlet.” Sehun has no idea he is trembling until he has the glossy paper in his hands. With so much difficulty, he manages to turn the folded sheet open. His eyes skim the content in hurry, looking for a familiar name within the list of notable members from the movie’s production crews. There is it. The fucking scriptwriter. _Kim Kai_. “Kim fucking Jongin.” He hisses, a bit too loudly than he is allowed too.

The person next to him snaps with an angry shush, complete with a glare and a curse under her breath.

On the other side, Yeonhee is still looking very concerned over his being. He inhales deeply and slumps back sulkily against his seat, arms folded to his chest with a huff after he dismissed her with a quiet ‘ _I’m okay_.’ She is not very convinced but it looks like she decided to let it go for now. Sehun is thankful. He is not ready for a question-answer session yet.

Right now, all Sehun wants to do is to scowl at the screen meanwhile his head comes up with a hundred different types of curses he can dedicate to Kim Jongin.

That bastard.

The audacity.

How dare he turn their love story into an actual movie without his permission – he even made himself the cooler one out of them two. For God’s sake, Sehun stopped wearing so many flannel shirts during their third year. And Jongin’s fashion sense was not any better either. He used to wear flare jeans all the time, coupled with a rounded neck t-shirt with only one side of it tucked in. It was horrible. Why, out of all people, did Sehun fall for that fashion terrorist? Was he blind?

He is going to sue that fucking ass.

The scenes on the screen keep changing, one after another. The characters are trying to get used to the changes, moving from a platonic friendship to something romantic. It is quite the challenge. It gets awkward at times especially when they are trying a new territory. But then, he notices the way Joonki’s expression visibly softens each time he looks at Seojun. And when their eyes meet, Joonki’s smile grows bigger until he is grinning like a dumb idiot. Seojun would shake his head, snorts but leans to kiss him anyways. It gets easier.

Sehun feels his heart clenches painfully. Yeah. He remembers that. They used to look at each other with so much love.

What went wrong?

For the rest of the movie, Sehun keeps his frown and continues to glare at the display. He is mad. He is furious. And he is also trying so hard not to cry. No, he is not going to cry. Jongin was the one who messed up; he woke up one day and decided he was done with them. Sehun has moved on. It had been years. This is not going to hurt him. Not again.

On the screen, Joonki is taking Seojun on a cruise trip for their first anniversary. Sehun could vividly recall the memory. A month prior to the said date, Jongin had been disappearing a lot. Classes for final year students were not as packed as the juniors but they did have a mountain of assignments and projects to finish. He expected to get holed up in their apartment with Jongin, but suddenly, he barely ever saw him anymore. Sehun remembers having doubts that maybe Jongin got bored of seeing him all the time, or maybe he was seeing someone else in secret. Turned out he was very wrong.

Jongin took multiple part time jobs to be able to afford the tickets for them. Five days on the seas, they signed up for as much on-ship activities they could and ended the nights with sweet love making. Under the moon, they vowed to always love each other, to stay by each other’s side, for better or for worse.

Obviously, the vow was broken.

A silent, lone tear slips down his cheek before he could stop it. Sehun chokes on a sob and angrily wipes his cheek. “Fuck you, Kim Jongin. How dare you. After all these years, how dare you.” He bites his lips, wanting to suppress more sobs from coming out. Instead, his tears rushed down like a waterfall. He feels a hand slipping across his shoulders before he is being pulled against a lithe body. Yeonhee runs her hand up and down his arm in a soothing manner. She is a smart girl; she has probably caught on what is going on.

“Let’s leave, yeah, Mr Oh.”

He nods dejectedly. It is better for them to leave.

Just as they are gathering their things, a loud sound of slap echoes in the hall. Both of them stop moving altogether, eyes trained on the scene that is currently unfolding on the huge screen. Joonki is holding a hand to his cheek, a furious middle-aged lady is shouting at him. “I brought you up better than this! It is bad enough that you’re slacking with your study. And now, what? You’re going out with a boy? How many more shames are you trying to bring into our house?”

Sehun feels his ears ringing. Did Jongin really have a row with his mother? He never mentioned that.

The string of arguments that follows goes blur as Sehun tries to process this new information. They talked about their families before, but Jongin never said anything about this. Jongin was always all smiles and happy. Was he _that_ good in covering up his problems or was Sehun the one who was not being attentive enough to notice?

He goes on alert again when Joonki is suddenly crying for his mother. The lady is on the floor, seeming unconscious, a hand clenches her dress on top of where her heart is. Did she have a heart attack?

The scenes on the screen are fast changing; from being inside an ambulance to Joonki crying next to his mother on a hospital bed, then Joonki at the university’s administration office to Joonki secretly moving his stuffs out of their shared apartment while Seojun is at home for winter break. The sequence ends at a convocation scene, where graduated students are taking photos with their families and now ex-classmates. Joonki stands by a tree, gazing from far, a small smile curls on his lips as he watches his fellow friends posing in their robes and mortarboard.

Among the sea of people, he spots Seojun. His parents and older brother are all over him, but his eyes would not stop darting around, constantly looking for the one man he is dying to see. Even from this distance, Joonki could see the sadness clouded in those beautiful brown eyes he fell in love with. He inhales a deep breath, whispers a soft ‘ _goodbye_ ’ for the wind to carry and leaves the venue.

“Mr Oh, that was…” Yeonhee speaks after a while, though Sehun does not reply. He keeps mum, staring blankly at the screen, which is now rolling movie credit.

The auditorium brightens as the normal lights are switched on again. An emcee walks onto the platform, a cheery smile on her face as she greets the audience and addresses the production crew as well as the actors that are present for the night. “Next, let’s invite onto the stage the man who breathed life into these characters so he can share their love story with the rest of us. Please welcome, the main scriptwriter, Mr Kim Kai.”

Amidst the confusion and wild ride of emotions, Sehun forgets that Jongin might be attending the premiere as well. He could not hold back the gasp when the man who had been sitting right in front of him stands up on cue and walks down towards the stage. The microphone exchanges hands, and Jongin turns to face the audience.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m the guy who’s responsible for all the tears being shed tonight. My name is Kim Kai.” Sehun keeps his eyes close on the man, clad in burgundy suit, hair slicked back and legs going on for miles. Fuck, he is still as attractive as ever. “I’ll be accepting questions from members of the audience as well as the press teams.”

“Mr Kim.” One of the reporters raises her hand. Jongin immediately turns to face where she is sitting, a welcoming smile on his lips. “There are rumours saying that you were inspired by a true event to write this movie. Would you like to clarify this matter?”

_Right off the bat_. “It’s not exactly a rumour, I wouldn’t say. I did mention it somewhere in one of my interviews, though not explicitly. But yes, I’ll be clarifying it tonight. This movie was written based on a true story.”

“Is it a story of someone you personally know?” Another reporter chips in with a follow up question.

“I do know these two, very closely too, I might say.” Then, at that moment, Jongin is suddenly looking right at him. Of course, Jongin is aware of his presence in the auditorium. He sat right in front of him. He might have overheard the little outburst Sehun had and recognised him right away. That somehow annoys Sehun even more. Jongin could have said something then, apologise immediately or just… anything. But, no. He walked up onto the stage looking as cheerful as ever, as if Sehun did not just face the biggest ever revelation of his broken love story. “Very closely.”

On his side, Yeonhee reaches over to take his hand in hers. She gives him an encouraging squeeze. Sehun feels braver to face this.

Their eye contact breaks when yet another reporter takes the baton. “What inspired you to take on this genre? Coming out movies aren’t very popular in our country as of now, so what made you and your team decide to pursue this?”

“I have wanted to bring this story to life for the longest time. In fact, I finished my first script draft even before the release for the first film I took part in. But fears stopped me. I had doubts. And I didn’t think I had the right to just… share it. And it was incomplete too. It still is incomplete. Joonki and Seojun didn’t get to have a proper closure. Joonki lived his days in regret for running away. And he has no idea how to find Seojun again. That’s why I decided to re-work on the script and meet up with my director friend. He agreed easily and we went straight into production. I hope through this movie, we’ll manage to reach out to Seojun. I understand if he’d still be mad, but at least, he’d finally know what actually happened.”

“What if he didn’t come across this movie? There is a possibility that he wouldn’t, right?”

“I thought of that too. I know that he isn’t a movie-type of guy. So, I’m leaving it all up to fate.”

“We hope he will!”

Jongin’s face softens before he continues. “He already did.” The auditorium is suddenly in silence. The reporters have stopped asking questions. The world seems to be on pause, before a gasp breaks the spell and the rest of the audience follows. Jongin wears a happy smile on his face meanwhile Sehun flushes on his seat. “He’s here with us tonight.”

As everyone else gets busy checking out each other, trying to figure out who this Seojun guy is in real life, Sehun is bubbling with anger. He is fuming. Jongin is really going overboard. He could accept the man turning their broken story into a movie and earn profit and fame from it but he would not tolerate being called out like this. If he wanted himself to be known, he would be the one to decide it.

And right now, he has decided.

Sehun stands up with a scowl. He is shooting deadly glares at his ex, who is still looking very content. “I will sue you, Kim Jongin,” he warns between gritted teeth. “You claimed this to be based on a true story yet you twisted everything into your favour! I don’t know if you hit your head somewhere but it didn’t happen like that! I never cried watching Twilight. I don’t even watch movies. You were the one sobbing your nose off! Also, I’m taller than you, you midget. Your fashion sense was way worse than me. What? Couldn’t find those stupid flare jeans you loved so much to put on your actors?”

By that time, Sehun is practically breathing out fire. However, it irks him more because it does not seem to have any effect on the other man. Instead, Jongin looks fonder and if he dared to say, so much in love. Sehun rolls his eyes so hard that his forehead aches, then bends down to grab the half-drunk water bottle he got from the goodies bag as a complimentary gift.

Back in high school days, Sehun used to pitch for a baseball team. They had won quite the number of tournaments and he was dubbed as one of the best pitchers the school has ever seen. It had been a while but Sehun believes in muscle memory. And in his rage.

So, he strikes his pose and throws the bottle right onto Jongin’s nose. “See you never!”

Sehun sends Yeonhee an apologetic look before making a dash out of the hall. He stomps through the crowd and onto the pavement, still fuming out with his blood boiling to the highest degree. He curses some more and marches towards the nearest bus stop. He is there on time with a bus pulling over for a stop.

But before Sehun could make it inside, a hand grabs his wrist. The hold is firm and Sehun finds himself unable to move once he realises who it is. The bus takes off without waiting for him and Sehun is currently trapped under the shade of the small bus stop.

“What do you want?”

The smugness Jongin had when he was standing on the stage from earlier is nowhere to be found. The skin of his forehead is heavily crinkled into the deepest frown. His eyes are not mirroring the whole galaxy anymore. Sehun refuses to look at them for long, because the flash of guilt he saw made his heart clench. Sehun is not planning to give in easily.

“I need you to listen to me. I-I need to explain.”

“I thought you said you just wanted me to know what happened. I know now, and I don’t care. Let me go. I want to go home.”

“Please, Sehun. Let me do this. I beg of you. Please.”

The hold on his wrist suddenly loosens, it is like Jongin is giving him a chance to escape if he wanted to. He studies the desperate look on the man’s face. He has decided long ago that he hates the man for leaving him out cold, but why is the mere sight of the man breaking down in front of him, also breaks his heart? Sehun wants to jostle him on the face and sprint away. Instead, he heaves a sigh and goes to sit on the waiting bench.

“You have 10 minutes.”

He hears Jongin thanking all the heavens before taking a seat next to him. “My mom had a stroke, and an acute heart attack on the following days. She went in and out of coma. The treatment fee was pretty costly and she would need someone to stay by her side. I had no choice but to drop out of college. I didn’t mean to just disappear on you. I know if I’d told you, you would understand. But at that time, I was very conflicted. My mom got a stroke because of me. She was lying on her deathbed because of me. I feel so horrible and I have no one else to blame but myself. I thought that maybe if I was into girls just like how she wanted, we wouldn’t have that argument and she would still…” Jongin pauses when he starts choking on a sob. “I couldn’t face you when I was having those kinds of ugly thoughts. I didn’t want to drag you into the mess that I was. I had no choice.”

“And you decided to make your escape while I was away? That was the best solution you came up with? To become a coward? You could’ve told me. We could’ve thought of a way together. Just how little faith did you have in me?” His voice steadily raises as the anger in him starts bubbling again. “It’s so unfair, Jongin. Do you know how broken you’ve left me? Do you know how long it took for me to get up on my feet again and then suddenly you decide to retell our story to the whole world and expect I would just accept it all as it is? And then what, to just forgive you?”

When he turns to look at Jongin again, the man is full on crying. His cheeks are drenched from tears. His eyes are red and his body is shaking. Sehun bites back an urge to reach out and hold him. He is pathetic, yeah.

“The past eight years, I lived each day with guilt and regrets. I didn’t know where or how to find you. Besides, it had been so long. Unlike me, God knows you might’ve already moved on and forgot all about us. But I wanted to take the chance. It’s a gamble. You were never a movie person, so I was surprised when I heard your voice from behind my seat. I guess it took the right girl to change you, yeah.” Jongin looks even more hurt at the mention of Yeonhee, if that was even possible. “I just wanted to give you a proper closure. I’m happy that you’re happy now. I hope you can forgive me, despite everything.”

Sehun keeps mum. The gears in his head are busy processing everything that happened tonight. He has so much to digest in such a short time, it is starting to overwhelm him. And he absolutely does not understand why the pained look on Jongin’s face is slowly tearing his heart into pieces. He moved on. He should not get affected by Jongin. Not this much.

“It’s okay if you are still mad and couldn’t forgive me. I understand.” Sehun frowns when Jongin speaks again. And why does he sound even more broken now? “The movie is already scheduled to broadcast in cinemas. If you still want to sue, please file it on me and not the team. This is my card. You can direct your lawyer to this number. I’m sorry for taking your time.”

Panic rises in him when Jongin stands up and leaves. No. He hates the man. It took him years to get his life together. He hates Jongin. He almost lost his purpose because of him. He hates him so much.

Then, why is he still here at the bus stop, unable to stop bawling his tears out?

Why is this more painful than it was eight years ago?


	2. Chapter 2

**Epilogue – Three weeks later**

Jongin is pacing in his home office, gathering source materials from his bookshelves for his next production project when the landline suddenly rings. He places the stack of old manuscripts neatly on the edge of his desk before reaching for the handset. “Hello. Kim Kai is speaking.”

“Hello, Mr Kim. My name is Park Chanyeol. I am the legal representative of Mr Oh Sehun.”

“Wait, hold up. Park Chanyeol as in _the_ Park Chanyeol my roommate from first year? Is it really you?” Even though Jongin only stayed in dormitories for one year, Chanyeol and him had grown close enough to stay in contact after he moved out. They would still hang out sometimes, together with Sehun. If Sehun were busy, Jongin would go pester the taller male. He had made enough impact in Jongin’s university life that he went ahead and added his character into the movie, portrayed as Youngjae. “Did Sehun really make you his lawyer?”

Ignoring his question, Chanyeol continues. “I am following my client’s order to contact you regarding a lawsuit he intends to file on you.” _Right_ , he almost forgets about that. Sehun said he is going to sue him. “But he asked me to read out his memo for you first.”

Jongin nods stupidly before realising that Chanyeol could not see him from the other side of the line. “Sure, go ahead.”

“Dear Kim Jongin, you’re a fucking bastard.”

“Excuse me?” Jongin shrieks in disbelief. Did Chanyeol just read that cuss word out with his professional monotonous voice? And more importantly, did Sehun actually write that for his lawyer to read to him?

Still ignoring Jongin, Chanyeol proceeds. “As I mentioned in our previous _conversation_ , I’ll be issuing a lawsuit following your incorrect portrayal of my character in your movie after claiming it to be based on a true story. One, I can attest that I have never cried watching the Twilight franchise, nor did I ever pay close attention to it when watching. I was only there because you would not shut your trap up unless I’m sitting next to you whenever you wanted to binge watch anything at all. Second, I believe I was and still am taller than you, you fucking midget.”

To say that Jongin is confused is an understatement. He is crazy-confused. On one hand, Chanyeol is still reading the memo in his super serious voice. But the memo is getting more and more ridiculous as they progress through it.

“However, I took account of the importance of your reputation as a public figure and well-known scriptwriter. Thus, I decide not to bring this to court and would be offering you a settlement instead. End of the memo.”

“A settlement?”

“Yes, Mr Kim. My client demands three things and would drop all charges if you agree with them.” Jongin hums, urging the lawyer to continue. “One, Mr Kim is not allowed to create any sort of character based on Mr Oh in the future. Two, Mr Kim would have to pay the fee for Mr Oh’s emotional support, on monthly terms, for the next twenty years. The amount is to be discussed. Three, Mr Kim would have to answer the next question with a ‘ _yes_.’”

“Uh, what question?”

Then, suddenly, it is not Chanyeol’s voice anymore. Instead, it is the voice he had been longing to hear for the past eight years. “Would you like to grab a coffee with me tomorrow?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end. I hope you enjoyed the fic. Do leave some comments and kudos too if you can.  
> ♥♥♥
> 
> Personal page: [rune4u.carrd.co](https://rune4u.carrd.co/)


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